MISSION & PRIORITIES The Washington State Beef Commission beef producer board, nominated by the industry and appointed

by the Director of Agriculture, meets annually to review the marketing climate for beef, revisit its mission and establish program priorities.

Mission Increase demand for beef by connecting and growing our beef community. Strategic Priorities 1. Stewardship— Grow consumer trust in beef and beef production 2. Innovation—Promote and strengthen beef’s value proposition through innovative technology 3. Nutrition and Health—Communicate beef’s nutrition and health benefits 4. Exports –Drive growth in beef exports from the Northwest

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Dear Fellow Beef Producers,

Our consumer has many options for protein and it is our goal to make sure they choose beef. Consumers love the taste of beef, but want to know more about how it is produced, its nutritional value and how to cook beef. In the past year the Beef Commission has worked hard to address these consumer concerns with millennial consumers via their mobile phones. Let’s face it, their phones are where they get most of their information these days and we have to give them accurate beef information tailored to their search habits — and that is likely not in the newspaper or even on television.

As a board, we take the stewardship of your Beef Checkoff investment very seriously. We know how hard you work for every dollar, and how many challenges you face every day. We strongly believe that the Beef Checkoff is part of the solution to those challenges. Our staff is small, inno-vative and very dedicated to working hard every day to promote our product and tell our story!

The contents of this report highlight many of the programs conducted over the past year designed to build trust and confidence in our product and our collective industry. I encourage you to read about how our commitment to our mission takes shape in our programs. Please contact us if you have any questions or need more information.

Sincerely,

Dave Boon, Chairman

Dairy Beef Producer, George, WA

The Washington State Beef Commission is the beef producer funded and directed beef promotion, research and consumer information arm of Washington’s beef community. A mandatory $1.50 assessment is paid by farmers and ranchers every time they sell a bovine animal. The program is authorized under state and federal law to implement

programs that increase demand for beef on behalf of local beef producers.

Washington State Beef Commission

2015-16 ANNUAL REPORT

WASHINGTON STATE BEEF COMMISSION

2015-16 Audited Financial Statements

REVENUES:

Total Assessments $1,588,716

Less CBB/State of Origin (529,982)

Interest & Other Income 52

Total WSBC Net Revenue $1,058,786

EXPENSES:

Promotion $548,455

Consumer Information 141,368

Research 4,141

Industry Information 77,734

Foreign Marketing 30,354

Producer Communications 50,871

Collection Compliance 19,140

Administration 179,221

Federation/NCBA 20,000

Total Expenses $1,071,284

Grow consumer trust in beef and beef production

1. STEWARDSHIP

Cause Marketing Program Builds Trust

Launched in 2010, the Beef Counts- Washington’s Beef Com-

munity United Against Hunger program was designed to

provide nutritious, high quality beef to hungry families in

Washington State through a partnership with Second Har-

vest in Eastern Washington and Washington’s beef commu-

nity. The role of the Beef Checkoff is to share the Beef

Counts story with consumers through public relations and

advertising. Research indicates that millennial consumers

are motivated to purchase products from groups that give

back to their community. To date the Beef Counts program

in Washington has raised $620,000 and provided beef meals

to almost one million neighbors in need.

The Beef Checkoff program is funded and

directed at the local level by beef producers

representing every sector of the beef industry.

Board members include:

Cow/Calf Craig Vejraska, Omak

Sid Viebrock, Waterville

Feeders Liz Para, Othello

Don Floren, Royal City

Dairy Dave Boon, George

Case VanderMeulen, Mesa

Auction Market Kale McGuiness, Spokane

Packer Dave Stiner, Toppenish

Beef Board Bill McLean, Coulee City

DID YOU KNOW?

Explore Beef Experience

Now in its 9th year, the Beef Commission hosted the annual EBE tour for

consumer thought-influencers in June. Participants included bloggers, retailers,

chefs, food service distributors and dietitians. Based on pre and post surveys of

the participants, this highly effective strategy really arms attendees to be

advocates for modern beef production. The number of participants expressing

concerns about issues like the impact of cattle production on the environment,

humane handling and the use of antibiotics to keep cattle healthy, declined by a

minimum of 60% following the tour.

Ranchers Pitching In -- Beef Counts impacts every corner of the state. Last year, beef producers raised $28,000 at

the annual rollover auction at the Toppenish Livestock Exchange which helped raise money and distribute beef to hun-

gry families at food banks throughout the state. AgriBeef Company matches their investments up to $50,000 annually.

Buy Beef and Fight Hunger – Over the past few years the Beef Counts program has grown to include retail partner-

ships with Haggen and Food Lifeline in Western Washington and Rosauer’s in Eastern Washington, that engage con-

sumers in the program. Will and Nicole Derting, ranchers from Moses Lake, were featured in advertising on Pandora

radio and Facebook in Western Washington in March, achieving 9.7 million consumer impressions. They were also

our “producer spokesfamily” on television ads through your Checkoff’s sponsorship of Tom’s BBQ Forecast on KREM-2

in Spokane throughout the summer that delivered 750 promotional spots and over 550,000 digital impressions.

An online magazine article written by a tour

participant reached over 100,000 targeted

consumers on Facebook.

One Health Educational Tour Tackles Antibiotic Resistance

The Washington State Beef and Dairy Commissions hosted a tour in September

for the Washington One Health Working Group, to address the topic of antibiotic

resistance. The group is comprised of public health professionals and veterinarians

from several state agencies, hospitals and universities, working together to achieve

judicious antimicrobial use in all species to maximize health, minimize harm, and

preserve effectiveness.

The tour included a panel discussion to showcase the livestock industry's commit-

ment to the stewardship of antibiotics, featuring leading experts in the livestock

industry addressing the issue nationwide. Participants also toured Easterday

Ranches and Coulee Flats Dairy in Franklin County to witness firsthand the im-

portance of animal care in disease prevention and the care taken to properly ad-

minister and track antibiotic use in livestock. Pre and post surveys of the tour par-

ticipants indicate strong improvement in their attitudes surrounding the livestock industry's use of antibiotics.

Beef Brisket on a Biscuit with a Brew

What happens when you combine 12-hour smoked beef brisket on a

biscuit with a beer? A symphony of deliciousness that helped Wash-

ington's Beef Community raise $9,298 for the Beef Counts benefitting

Food Lifeline. The Washington Brewer's Festival was held in Redmond

at Marymoor Park on Father's Day weekend. Thousands of consumers

visited the huge Beef Commission tent, sampled our beef brisket,

talked with local ranchers and donated to Beef Counts. While enjoying

their beef brisket on a biscuit, consumers also had the opportunity to

peruse photo books featuring local ranches and feed yards, identify

where cuts of beef originate on subprimals, learn about beef cookery

and ask questions about the beef production process. Social media ads targeting the local beer enthusiast audience

reached over 55,000 people and 3,300 engagements, showing a strong interest in what the Beef Commission offered

at the event.

Promote and strengthen beef’s value proposition through innovative technology

2. INNOVATION

2.3 Million Beef Cooking Videos Viewed Online

A digital media partnership with Spokane-based Spiceologist spice company using short, instructional beef grilling recipe videos garnered 2.3 million completed views over the summer. The videos reached targeted millennial consumers across Washing-ton through their mobile and desktop devices on Facebook, Instagram and popular news sites like HuffingtonPost.com. About half of the consumers engaged with the videos by tagging their friends in the comments section of the posts to share the reci-pe. Click each title to watch the videos and get the recipes: Bacon Bleu Burger, NY Steak 3 Ways, Grilled Moroccan Meatballs, and Grilled Cheesesteak Pinwheels.

#WaBeefLove Videos Highlight Seattle’s Love of Beef

While Seattle has the image of a seafood lover’s paradise, locals will tell you

they love their beef. In fact, when asked, 75% of Seattle/Tacoma area con-

sumers consider beef a top meal choice with only 54% naming seafood. To

capitalize on beef’s popularity, the WSBC highlighted beefy hot spots in Se-

attle through a series of 21 #wabeeflove video reviews of restaurants and

butcher shops on YouTube and Tastemade. To date the videos have been

viewed 92,937 times.

Cooking Beef on Seattle Television

Over the past year, the Beef Commission appeared on Seattle network television 11

times to demonstrate delicious beef recipes to consumers. The segments included

recipes for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Father’s Day

and Independence Day. Over 460,000 household impressions were achieved all

for the price of a bag of groceries! Additional exposure achieved by promoting the

segments on Facebook reached almost 250,000 consumers.

At the Kitchen Counter Cooking Class Schools Bloggers on Beef

The last of four At the Kitchen Counter with Beef cooking classes was an invi-

tation-only event for local food bloggers. Eleven guests representing popular

blogs attended the Seattle event in May. NCBA Executive Chef Dave Zino led

the group through choosing beef cuts, cooking methods, and the finer points

of creating flavor. The class included an excursion to Don & Joe's Meats at

Pike Place Market, and a shopping trip through the market stalls to find ingre-

dients for the tastes Chef Dave later prepared. The class was intended to build

relationships with targeted bloggers and inspire them to use beef. Instagram

posts from the influential attendees during and after the class generated over

8,000 engagements by their audiences.

Last year, your beef checkoff achieved 31.1

million consumer impressions on Facebook,

Pandora and Tubemogul. That includes

104,000 website visits for beef information

and 2.9 million video views.

DID YOU KNOW?

Beef Commission Reaches Millennial Consumers Online

The primary advertising tool deployed by your beef checkoff is the cost-effective

placement of advertising on digital platforms such as Face-

book and Pandora. Last year the Commission achieved 31.1

million consumer impressions. The focus of the advertising

included beef recipes and nutrition information, as well as

ads that drove consumers to wabeef.org to learn more

about how beef is produced. One success story was the

Seattle Seahawks "Hawk Crock" giveaways, where promot-

ed Facebook posts delivered slow cooker beef recipes. Con-

sumers commenting on the recipes were entered to win

Seahawk crock pots. The first two posts of the campaign

reached over 107,000 consumers with a high rate of engagement with 3,400 consum-

ers taking action on the ad content. Follow our activities targeting millennial consum-

ers on social media at wabeef.org and Facebook.com/WABeef.

Communicate beef’s nutrition & health benefits

3. NUTRITION & HEALTH

Sounders Sponsorship Promotes Fuel for Families in Motion

Reaching Washington’s "soccer moms" with the message that beef plays an

essential role in the active lifestyles of modern families was the key out-

come of the WSBC’s Seattle Sounders Sponsorship. Digital banner advertis-

ing, enticing giveaways on social media, event marketing, quality on-line

nutrition and beef meal solutions have yielded tangible results. The part-

nership achieved over 1.7 million consumer impressions targeting active

young families with delicious and convenient beef nutrition information

last year.

Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (WSAND) Annual Conference

The Beef Commission played a key role in the WSAND annual conference in

Portland attended by over 500 registered dietitians from Oregon and Washing-

ton in April. Leading up to the annual meeting, the Beef Commission hosted a

pre-convention tour at the Keith Kreps Ranch in White Salmon, Washington.

Keith shared his family's ranching history and how they care for the cattle and

the environment. The Beef Commission also conducted a breakout session

titled "Modern Media Communications” that used beef nutrition messages as

examples of how to communicate to consumers via social media. Finally, your

Beef Checkoff sponsored keynote speaker, Dr. Dominik Alexander, a research

scientist and expert in epidemiology who presented on "Interpreting Epidemio-

logic Evidence and a Case Study on Red Meat and Colorectal Cancer." He suc-

cessfully provided the context that the dietitians needed to understand how the

World Health Organization inaccurately concluded that red meat likely causes cancer.

Soccer sponsorship included social media and event engagement.

Fuel for Fitness at the Seattle Kids Marathon

Thanksgiving weekend brought the annual Seattle Kids Marathon back to

Seattle Center where 1,300 young runners and their families gathered to

celebrate family fitness. The Beef Commission worked with the Seattle

Marathon Association to present the Runner's Recovery Zone after the

race. Our Beef Fuel For Fitness tent made a great educational backdrop for

distributing over 700 healthy beef jerky samples donated by our partners

at Oberto Beef Jerky and family resources like meal plans, beef recipes,

and Protein Challenge information.

School Nutrition Association Explores Beef

The Beef Commission conducted an educational session in August

for the WA School Nutrition Association's annual gathering of over

600 employees who feed our state's youth breakfast and lunch each

school day. This valuable group of consumer thought-influencers was

updated on how beef is raised in Washington State and how consum-

ers and producers work together to build our regional beef supply

chain. Topics included the beef lifecycle, management decisions and

beef marketing.

Drive growth in exports of beef from the Northwest

4. EXPORTS

Northwest Beef Promotion Initiative Promotes Beef in Japan

The Beef Checkoff programs in Washington,

Oregon and Idaho have teamed up with the

United States Meat Export Federation to

promote beef from the Northwest in Japan.

Through a combination of retail and foodser-

vice partnerships and training, the two-

month promotion ultimately generated beef

sales of more than 178.4 metric tons valued

at $4.9 million. The advertising featured lo-

cal producers Cody Easterday and Tyler Cox.

Beef Checkoff Hosts Japanese Media Team

The Beef Commission hosted a group of media traveling

through Seattle during a trip to the United States organized

by the United States Meat Export Federation in June. In an

effort to showcase beef produced in the Northwest, the

Beef Commission arranged photo shoots and interviews

with The Metropolitan Grill, Costco, and the Skillet Restau-

rant Group. The Japanese lifestyle magazine reporters were

accompanied by a professional photographer and all were

delighted to taste, report on and photograph our beautiful

beef! Japan is a critical market for beef from the North-

west. The US Meat Export Federation reports that the ex-

port value per head of beef slaughtered in 2015 was

$277.87.

The US Meat Export Federation, funded in part

with your Beef Checkoff investment, reported

that in 2015 the export value per head of beef

slaughtered was $277.87.

DID YOU KNOW?

Join r conversation

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Beef producers are invited to follow activities funded with their

Beef Checkoff investment. Here is how:

Website - wabeef.org Facebook/WABeef

Instagram/@WABeefLove Twitter/@WABeef Pinterest/WABeef YouTube/WABeef

Sign up for our monthly E -newsletter at wsbc@wabeef.org